Another mission accomplished for astronaut Peggy Whitson

Michaele Niehaus

Thursday

Feb 15, 2018 at 12:18 AMFeb 15, 2018 at 12:21 AM

MOUNT PLEASANT — Keziah Bohman arrived Wednesday to the Iowa Wesleyan University Chapel with aspirations of becoming a farmer, but after listening to NASA astronaut and IW alum Peggy Whitson speak, Bohman set her sights on a new goal.

"I wanna break her record," the 7-year-old Mount Pleasant native said with confidence and determination, though she's not sure yet which of Whitson's numerous space records that will be. "I was thinking of being a farmer, but after I heard her, I was thinking I want to be an astronaut."

Bohman sat alongside her 11-year-old sister, Ezra Bohman, and their mother, Elizabeth Bohman, a native of Bolivia who decided the Founder's Day event warranted a break from the trio's home school routine.

"As a third-world country, we could never ever get closer to the stars," Elizabeth Bohman said, adding the event provided an opportunity for her daughters to see what paths they can pursue.

The three listened as Whitson — who has spent more time in space than any American, and more than any other woman — delivered a stirring, funny and, at times, emotional speech detailing the events, experiences and people from which she drew inspiration in her earlier years.

First, it was the work ethic instilled in her at the age of 6, when she first began "walking the beans," the task of plucking cockleburrs from the rows upon rows of soybean fields on her parents' farm.

"I think if I hadn't become an astronaut, maybe I would've become one of those people that genetically engineered soybeans so you could put herbicide on them to kill the cockleburrs and save future generations of child laborers," Whitson said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Other inspirations were watching the moon landing at the age of 9; her first time flying in an airplane at the age of 10; and graduating high school the first year NASA accepted women into its astronaut program.

Then it was on to Iowa Wesleyan, an institution she chose for its biology department and size. It was there she met Dolores Poulter Wilson, a biology professor who would become a mentor to Whitson. Wilson introduced her to James Van Allen, the Mount Pleasant native and discoverer of the Van Allen Belt, who at the time was working on a robotic satellite.

"When I asked him about becoming an astronaut, he told me that astronaut thing was a flash in the pan and wouldn't last," Whitson said, eliciting laughter from the audience. "He recommended I find a different career. While I was really excited about seeing space hardware, I didn't care much for his advice, so I chose not to let it interfere with my path."

After finishing graduate school at Rice University, Whitson's ambitions were challenged again when she called a professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, to tell him she was taking the NASA fellowship instead of one she had been awarded at Salk. He told her she was making the biggest mistake of her life.

"I do regret I don't remember his name," she said. "I really would've liked to have called him from the space station."

As Whitson continued, Keziah Bohman held tight to her love of chickens that developed from her time spent collecting eggs on her grandmother's farm, but Whitson's words — and perhaps the golden IWU Presidential Medal for Outstanding Merit and key to the city Whitson received during the ceremony — stirred a desire in her young mind for something more.

Bohman's newfound dream could mean trouble for one or more of Whitson's records, but Whitson, who's made inspiring youths to realize and work toward their dreams somewhat of a personal mission, welcomes the rivalry.

"We need to let (girls) know that it is cool to be a scientist," Whitson said during a press conference. "They shouldn't be dissuaded by people telling them that they can't do it. We need their ideas and their innovation. If you're not using all the human capital to get ahead, then you're not trying hard enough."